A LinkedIn recommendation is often written by a coworker, client or former boss. It serves as a testimonial for a person’s character and professional strengths.

When you recommend someone on LinkedIn, it shows your respect for them while also opening up the door to receive a recommendation in return.

How to recommend someone on LinkedIn

  1. Go to the user’s profile who you would like to recommend.

2. Scroll down to the “Recommendations” section in the user’s profile.

linkedin recommendation screenshot

3. From the dropdown menus, select your relationship to the user and their position at the time you worked together.

linkedin recommendation screenshot

4. Write your recommendation and hit “Send”.

linkedin recommendation screenshot

How to Write a LinkedIn Recommendation

If you’re endorsing someone, you probably already know what you want to say about them, but you might not know exactly how to write a recommendation.

Introduce yourself

LinkedIn will put your picture and job title text to your recommendation automatically, but a quick introduction helps add validity to your endorsement.

Choose one or two qualities

Maybe you love every little thing about a former coworker, but listing every little thing about them takes the focus away from the one or two things that make them exceptional professionally. Choose just a couple of skills or qualities that you think represent your coworker best.

Add proof of skills

Beef up your recommendation with the mention of a project or accomplishment you worked on with the person you’re recommending. It adds context and validity to your recommendation.

How to ask for a recommendation on LinkedIn

When we asked the experts the best way to get recommendations on LinkedIn, the most common response was to give a recommendation to get one.

When asking for a recommendation on Linkedin, Gina Riley, Career Branding Coach, suggests giving your colleague the top three things you’d like to be known for, and ask them which three things they’d like to be known for, too, so you can return the favor for anything you can authentically speak to.

Recommendations are not just for those actively job searching, though. If you want to beef up your LinkedIn profile but don’t want you colleagues to think you’re on the hunt for a new job, Brian Collins, Executive Director of the Greyhound Health Initiative, has a good suggestion. He says, “say that you’re looking for recommendations that you can use as extra talking points at your next annual review and or when up for the next promotion.”

It’s perfectly acceptable to better your professional brand, whether you’re job searching or not!

Before you ask someone to recommend you on LinkedIn, make sure your profile is in tip-top shape by running it through our LinkedIn Optimization tool.

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